Which wool coats are best?
Winter is heading for a close, but it has plenty of bite left. Methods to keep the chill at bay, such as a steaming mug of hot chocolate or cozying up to a roaring fire, are effective but short-lived.
If you want to stave off the cold for long periods, it’s not too late to get a good winter coat. And among the best materials for making a winter coat is wool. It’s naturally insulative thanks to the air pockets trapped in the material.
In this article: BGSD Men’s Wool Blend Pea Coat, Anne Klein Women’s Classic Double-Breasted Coat and Suugen Girls Wool Coat.
What to know before you buy a wool coat
What is wool?
Wool is traditionally a fiber made from animal materials. Sheep wool is the most common, though goats, rabbits and camelids — camels, llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos — are also harvested to make wool. Wool can also be made from non-organic materials such as minerals and glass.
Material blending
Wool coats are rarely made entirely from wool. Instead, they’re blended with other fibers such as cotton, polyester, rayon and spandex. This helps keeps the cost of the coats down without sacrificing warmth.
How much wool is used in the blend varies. Better coats are at least 50% wool, with some as much as 70% to 90% wool. The most affordable wool coats can have a blend of only 10% wool, but they may not be as warm.
Children’s coats are especially hard to find with high concentrations of wool; most stick to less than 50%. This keeps costs down for manufacturers and for parents who need to buy a new coat each year for each child.
Take care when shopping for wool coats online. Many coats are listed with names that claim they’re wool, but on close inspection of the listing you can find that a given coat clearly contains no wool, or that different sections of the listing give different mixes of materials. In either case, you should move on and continue shopping.
Coats vs. jackets
Technically, a coat must extend to around the waist, and preferably longer, to be a coat. Anything less is actually a jacket. There are plenty of cases of clothing being in an awkward spot between coat and jacket. The tiebreaker here goes towards coats being bulkier and warmer than jackets.
Who is it for?
Wool coats are typically made for male, female and child body types in mind, with each having specific style patterns. But don’t let anyone stop you from wearing a coat you like.
- Men’s coats tend to be more square and cut a straight line against the body.
- Women’s coats tend to be taken in around the middle to achieve a slimming effect.
- Boys coats tend to be made following men’s fashion.
- Girls coats tend to flare widely from the waist down. Bows are common additions, too.
Cost
Low-end wool coats, such as those made from faux wool, can cost as little as $50. Better coats made of real wool can cost up to $200. The best non-designer coats can cost up to $500. Designer wool coats can cost thousands of dollars, even hitting five digits.
What are the best wool coats to buy for men?
BGSD Men’s Wool Blend Pea Coat
This coat comes in a dizzying array of sizes, including multiple in the short, tall, big and big-and-tall varieties. The shell is 70% wool and it’s available in black, navy and charcoal.
Sold by Amazon
Cole Haan Men’s Topper Jacket With Knit Bib
This basic but classic winter coat is 53% wool, 37% polyester and 10% other fibers. It comes in small, medium, large and XL sizes but only one color. It must be dry-cleaned.
Sold by Amazon
Invachi Men’s Wool Blend Winter Coat
This coat is 45% wool with the rest a mix of cotton and polyester. It comes in 11 colors, all of which include a scarf that can be secured to the coat or worn separately.
Sold by Amazon
Wantdo Men’s Wool Blend Pea Coat
This coat has a more modern feel than others, thanks to the liberal use of buttons and zippers. It comes in 10 colors and in six sizes.
Sold by Amazon
Wulful Men’s Wool Blend Winter Coat
This gray coat comes in five sizes and includes a free matching scarf that can be buttoned to the coat or worn separately. It has several pockets, including a left-side inner pocket.
Sold by Amazon
What are the best wool coats to buy for women?
Anne Klein Women’s Classic Double-Breasted Coat
This coat is 60% wool with the other 40% polyester and other fibers. It comes in 11 styles and in five sizes, though not all styles come in all sizes, and it even has sleeve tabs.
Sold by Amazon
Aprsfn Women’s Wool Blend Coat
This wool and polyester coat has a slimming waistline and large notched lapels to accentuate the neck. It comes in six colors, including wine red and dark green, and in five sizes.
Sold by Amazon
This coat’s striking feature is its large buttons. It has a roomy pocket on both sides and extends down to the knee when fitted properly. It comes in six sizes and six colors, including red and blue.
Sold by Amazon
This coat is half wool and half polyester. It has a row of four buttons on both sides and an eye-catching belt around the waist. It comes in five sizes and in black, camel and wine red.
Sold by Amazon
What are the best wool coats to buy for children?
This coat has a large center bow around the neck and two smaller bows at the edges of the sleeves. It comes in sizes for ages 2 to 8 and in four colors.
Sold by Amazon
This wool coat comes in a staggering 45 designs and in sizes for every age from 1 to 16 years old. Most of the designs help age your child up a few years and make them seem more refined.
Sold by Amazon
Sportoli Boy’s Wool Blend Coat
This coat has two roomy pockets on the sides and sleeve tabs. It’s 10% wool, with the rest polyester. It comes in sizes for ages 2 to 20 and in black, navy, camel and charcoal.
Sold by Amazon
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Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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